Dora
by Dormouse8
Summary: After a chance meeting in the Three Broomsticks, their worlds collided. Songfic to Lola by The Kinks. Oneshot. R&R appreciated.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Magical world of Harry Potter, Or Lola by The Kinks.

A/N: This is a songfic based on the song "Lola" by the Kinks.

I thought this song somehow reminded me of Tonks and Lupin, and I think the beginning of the song fits them so well.

_R&R and all that jazz._

* * *

_I met her in a club down in old Soho_

_Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola_

_C-o-l-a Cola_

_She walked up to me and she asked me to dance,_

_I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said "Lola."_

_L-o-l-a Lola, lo-lo-lo-lo Lola_

Remus walked quickly towards the brightly light pub, wrapping his cloak around him tightly as the chilly air caused him to shiver. Standing just outside the door, the muffled commotion he heard coming from inside was typical for a Friday night. The Three Broomsticks often boomed noisily at the weekends, and this one was nothing different.

Briskly pulling open the door, the sound of glasses clinking and fruitful laughter was greatly amplified, and Remus hurried inside, dodging around cheerful customers who were obviously enjoying the warm atmosphere within the pub. Taking a seat at the end of the bar, Remus gave the familiar barmaid a quick smile causing her to come over to him.

"Not often we see you in here Remus." Madame Rosmerta said, giving him a questioning look.

"My dear, I just fancied a change of scenery. Besides, the Hogs Head was chillingly quiet for this time of night, and I didn't fancy spending tonight in the presence of three leering hags."

Madam Rosmerta gave a small chuckle and pulled a glass from under the bar. "Firewhiskey isn't it?"

"You remembered?" Remus said slightly impressed.

"Call it a gift." She replied, filling his glass with the amber liquid, which was now sizzling and emitting slight sparks from the surface. He gave her a smile followed by a Thank You as she handed him the beverage. Turning his back on the bar, he looked around the crowded pub, looking for a face he recognized. Taking a sip of the firery liquid, he felt the drink intensely burn the back of his throat, followed by the sensation that his tongue was momentarily on fire. As Remus opened his mouth to cough, a plume of smoke floated from his lips, and drifted into nothingness.

Dazed by the strength of the fire whiskey, he failed to hear the cheering coming from the left side of the pub. Upon hearing the cheering second time around, he gazed over at the large group of wizards and witches, the majority of them looking relatively young.

"Do the duck again Tonks, that was genius!" A squeaky voice said, loud enough for Remus to hear. Tonks. Why did that name sound so familiar to him? Whilst he pondered, more cheers came from the group, making it obvious that whoever Tonks was had succeeded in "doing the duck."

"Again!" The squeaky voice chirped, obviously amused by the spectacle he had just saw.

"Bloody Hell Corwin have you got a thing for ducks?" A loud bubbly voice retorted back, causing a few of the group to laugh. Remus turned away from the group, thinking back to when he was that age, reminiscing about old memories with a small smile across his face.

Suddenly, Loud music burst into the packed pub, causing the inhabitants to whoop and cheer in delight. A space automatically emptied of people, making it clear that it was the designated dance floor for those who felt brave, or drunk enough to dance to the vibrant music.

Some of the young Witches and Wizards steadily made their way forward to dance, laughing and joking as quite a few of them danced about wildly, showing they had consumed more than one of the pubs specially brewed mulled mead's.

"Come on Tonks!" A young witch called from the dance floor. Remus followed the witches gaze until his eyes fell onto a pretty woman with striking bubblegum pink hair. He watched as she clumsily tripped over a chair, and managed to save herself from falling flat on her face by grabbing the arm of a rather burly looking wizard. Regaining her posture, Remus looked on as she skipped happily towards her friend and became immersed in the crowd.

He couldn't put his finger on why she looked so familiar. He swiftly came to the conclusion that he'd merely caught a passing glance of her before, say in Diagon Alley, and remembered her startling choice of hair colour. Anyone who saw her hair wasn't likely to forget it in a hurry. Lost in his thoughts, Remus didn't notice when the one on his mind bounded towards him, dodging around several customers and plopped herself onto the rickety stool beside him.

"Another Red Currant Rum please Madam Rosmerta." She said cheerily, hardly giving a glance towards Remus. Finally, she turned her attention towards the ordinary looking wizard beside her and flashed him a smile. "Hello." She said taking in his appearance. She then turned her gaze back towards his light brown eyes. Remus stared back her for a moment, before giving her a polite smile back. "Not dancing?" she asked, taking her drink from Madam Rosmerta. He gave a short laugh. "No, not tonight, I've unfortunately left my dancing shoes at home." He replied in an attempt to make her laugh.

She did. Loud and cheerfully before taking a gulp from her drink. She turned her attention back to him, gazing into his eyes once more before bolding asking him;

"Want to dance?"

Remus couldn't refuse her. He didn't know why but he felt suddenly compelled to get up and dance with the curious witch beside him.

He chuckled a little, before accepting her request. He downed his remaining fire whiskey, feeling that he'd need all the liquid courage he could get, and allowed himself to be lead by the impulsive witch, who had grinned wide and grabbed his hand before pulling him towards the now large crowd of dancing wizards.

"So what's your name?" He asked, as she pulled him towards the middle of the group. The people around him jostled in time to the music, a few even heartily singing along with the song, one of which Remus didn't know.

"I'm Tonks." She simply replied, bouncing on the balls of her feet to the upbeat song. "Just Tonks?" He asked, staring down at her. "No, but I prefer Tonks to my full name." She replied make a small face at the subject causing a small grin to capture his lips. "Enlighten me?" he pried. Tonks looked up at his face, staring intently at him. "Promise you wont laugh?"

"Promise."

She took a breath before looking back at him. "Nymphadora. Nymphadora Tonks." Remus felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth before watching her eyes widen in surprise. "Sorry, Sorry!" he hastily apologized before she gave him a small shove which threw him a little off balance. "It's not that bad." he reassured flashing her a smile. She stuck her tongue out at him, causing Remus to laugh at the most curious witch before him.

----

_Well we drank champagne and danced all night,_

_Under electric candlelight,_

_She picked me up and sat me on her knee,_

_And said "dear boy wont you come home with me?"_

As time moved towards the early hours, the Three Broomsticks slowly began to empty and the music died down to something more relaxed. Remus and Tonks had long since left dancing to those who were admirably better, and Remus had sore feet thanks to Tonks stamping down on them quite a few times during a rather upbeat Weird Sister's song.

They had moved towards a secluded table near the back of the pub, and they quietly chatted and joked, making Remus feel quite captured by the young witch in his company. She had told him how she had just finished her Auror training, which she described as three years of solid torture. She had made him suddenly choke on his fire whiskey when she suddenly changed her hair colour from the vibrant pink to a shimmering blond and back again. She had noticed his alarm and quickly explained that she was a Metamorphmagus, which she called a blessing for getting her through the Concealment and Disguise section of her training, before giving a hearty laugh when he still had a look of shock upon his face.

All throughout their conversation, he had hardly mentioned a fact about himself, only telling her his name and age. He didn't mind though. He was far more interested in Tonks than telling her about his life, which he felt would be slightly bland compared with hers.

As the conversation carried on, and the once brilliant blazing floating candles around them had burnt down into glowing amber stubs, Remus felt himself growing sleepy from the effects of the firewhiskey, and the cosy ambience in the now sparsely populated pub. Madam Rosemerta was wiping down the vacant tables, whilst another barmaid was making used glasses clean themselves before she put them back under the bar.

"-And then the Order became an option."

Remus snapped from his sleepy state at Tonks' last sentence. "What?" he asked, intensely gazing at her face. She Suddenly bit her lip in the realization that she had passed on secret information to a man she barely knew.

She remained silent.

"Are you a member of the Order too?" Remus suddenly blurted out, forgetting any secrecy and quickly blaming it on the firewhiskey. He watched her face soften in relief as she nodded. She gave a short smile before dropping his gaze. "I thought I recognized you from somewhere.." She added that shy smile returning to her lips. Remus also smiled, feeling slightly pleased that she'd remembered him too.

Before another word between the two could be spoken, A lingering member of Tonks' group quietly walked towards her friend. "Tonks we better get going." She said giving Remus a slight glance. Tonks nodded and hastily made to stand, knocking the table in the process and causing her latest beverage to spill. "Ohh! Not again! That's the third tonight." She said aloud, making the small puddle on the table disappear with a wave of her wand.

"It was nice meeting you." She said looking up at Remus. The atmosphere between them became suddenly awkward, making it difficult for Remus to say anything back.

"And you." he managed to say before giving her a smile before dropping his gaze.

"until the next Order meeting." Tonks said, before she slowly began walking towards the door. He merely nodded at her, suddenly too shy to speak. This wasn't like him.

"Goodbye Remus."

And with that she was gone, leaving him sitting there alone with a smile planted on his face, making him ponder why in the world a witch like her was interested in an old man like him.

"Good night?" A voice came from behind him. Remus turned to see the smiling face of Madam Rosmerta. "Yes, quite." he said standing as he did so realising that he too better be making tracks. "Don't stay away for too long." Madam Rosmerta said, giving him a brief wave as he headed towards the door of the tavern.

He waved back bidding her goodnight, and with that he walked out of the pub, turned and apparated on the spot, making his way home.

-----

_Well I'm not the worlds most passionate guy,_

_But when I looked in her eyes, I almost fell for my Lola,_

_Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola_

He couldn't get her out of his head. Here he was Remus J Lupin, walking around in a daze, completely besotted with a witch he met in a pub over a week ago. This wasn't like him. The Remus he knew was usually determined and focused, and rarely anything distracted him until now. Until her.

He told himself he was being silly, a young pretty witch like her wouldn't want anything to do with a shabby old wizard like himself. He came to the conclusion that she was only looking for friendly company and nothing more, but still Lupin couldn't understand why she wanted to talk to him.

Looking at himself from an outsiders point of view, he found nothing that made him appear interesting to a girl like Tonks on first sight.

He went about in this state for a while, until he'd mentally shake himself and push her from his mind, but slowly she'd creep back in, her beaming smile with her twinkling eyes and shocking pink hair, and he was lost, reminiscing about their chance meeting over a week ago.

After a particularly trying morning at Order headquarters, Remus allowed himself five minutes of peace, and threw himself down into the nearest suitable armchair in the sitting room of 12 Grimmauld Place. He allowed his eyes to flutter closed for a moment, before he felt a rough pat on his shoulder and a gruff voice calling his name.

Turning around he came face to face with Alastor Moody. "Morning Alastor." He said stifling a yawn. "Can I help you with anything?" Moody clunked past Remus in the armchair and came to stand in the middle of the sitting room. "No, I've just came to introduce you to one of our newest members." Moody replied. "She's an immensely skilled Auror, She'd be an asset to the order. Come in Tonks, not like you to be shy."

Remus turned swiftly in his chair as Tonks bounced happily into the sitting room. She collided slightly with the corner of the armchair ,causing her to trip over before she composed herself and stood beside Moody. "Skilled as she may be, she's lacking in poise." Moody said rolling his magical eye.

"Hello again." Tonks replied, smiling brightly at Lupin. He felt his stomach flutter lightly, giving her an equally enthusiastic hello back.

"Oh you've met before?" Moody asked, giving the pair a questioning look.

"Yes, yes we have." Lupin replied still looking at her.

Moody proceeded to speak but Lupin wasn't listening. He was lost somewhere in her dark twinkling eyes that he'd greatly missed this past week. He had no idea what had come over him, and Remus realised that he must remain professional, but for now whilst Moody babbled on, he allowed himself the guilty pleasure of looking deep into her eyes, watching as they twinkled back at him.

-----

_I pushed her away_

_I walked to the door_

_I fell to the floor_

_I got down on my knees_

_Then I looked at her and she at me_

"_Tonks stop it, you're only putting yourself in danger!"_

"_It changes nothing Remus, monthly transformations or not you're still that awful dancer I fell for."_

Over a year had passed since they first set eyes on each other. A long year, which had bypassed them all too quickly, leading them here, testing their relationship to the limit.

Remus had been careful not to let her find out at first. Every month he'd try to slip out unnoticed and safety change into the being he so hated. Changing. Forgetting. He'd take himself to the nearest woods and lose himself deep inside, hoping that nobody would come across him in his changed state. Here, he'd stay, a slave to the moonlight, scratching and biting himself as he wondered around the forest, having no memory of the ones he held dear to his heart.

When dawn came he'd awake, often bleeding from various self inflicted wounds or those brought on by other animals in the forest. Then, he'd creep home, hoping that she didn't notice his absence. She didn't. But she did notice his wounds.

That's when the next lie came to life. He'd tell her he was on Order business, and that it was strictly confidential. She didn't buy it and she accused him of being unfaithful.

"_What?" He'd almost laughed when she'd confronted him that evening, standing her ground in their small kitchen, arms folded across her chest, her face hard as stone. _

"_You heard me." She bit back, voice sharp like tiny daggers. _

"_Don't be so stupid Tonks, why would you think I'd do that to you?"_

"_Maybe it's when you slink off once a month without so much as an explanation."_

_Remus stared at her, her eyes glaring into his as if she was trying to see into his mind, trying to extract the answers she so desperately needed. _

"_I can't tell you." He answered weakly, dropping his gaze from hers._

"_Then I can't stay." _

_The pain in her voice almost made him crumble. She'd been trying so hard to keep herself composed, but now as he looked back at her, he saw her eyes mist over as she bit down on her bottom lip in an attempt to stop herself from crying._

_At that point Remus knew she deserved the truth. _

_And he knew the truth would drive her straight out the door._

_This was it. Remus saw a single tear fall down her cheek before she turned her back on him and began to leave. _

_He took a deep breath._

"_Tonks I'm a werewolf."_

Naturally she didn't believe him at first. She thought he was giving her a pathetic excuse for his absences, and he watched in amazement as her usual pink hair changed instantly into a fiery scarlet, as she flew into a full scale rage. It wasn't until he'd shown her a vial of wolfsbane that her hair finally claimed back it's usual colour. She stood there, lost for words as he told her of how he came to be a werewolf, and why he hadn't told her; simply for her own protection.

But now here they were again, arguing over his "condition" as they called it, Remus desperately persuading her to get herself far away from him as possible before one day he'd hurt her.

Tonks obviously refusing, telling him that she'd gladly choose missing limbs over leaving him any day.

"You're being stupid." He told her.

"And you're being _monthly_" she bit back. "You do this every time Remus, insist you're no good for me, and that I'd be better off with some nice Healer. If I wanted a Healer why do you think I'd be still here, brewing your wolfsbane, and putting up with the added hairiness once a month?"

He tried once again. "Tonks stop it, you're only putting yourself in danger."

"It changes nothing Remus, monthly transformations or not you're still that awful dancer I fell for."

He looked at her helplessly, as if silently pleading her to go, to get herself away from this life as an outcast. But she stood her ground. "Take your potion." She said flatly, handing him the vial of wolfsbane. Taking the vial from her, he slumped to the floor in the hallway, letting out a sigh as he downed the potion in one. He grimaced at the foul taste of the substance.

Suddenly he doubled over in pain, a low growl escaping his lips.

Tonks dropped to the floor beside him, clutching his shoulders tightly, panic flooded across her features. Remus closed his eyes tight as another wave of pain erupted in his stomach.

" Oh Merlin, I've poisoned you! I should of let a professional brew your potion!"

Then suddenly just as it has came, the pain left, and Tonks watched as his face softened from the contorted pain that was etched there a few seconds previous, and his eyelids fluttered open.

"It's almost time Tonks." He said staring deep into her panicked eyes. "I'm going to change soon."

Slowly he got to his feet with her support and he headed towards the door. He started to wriggle from her grasp but she held a tight grip upon his shoulders. He looked down at her, fear spread across her delicate features, her twinkling eyes filled with terror for him, that he knew shouldn't be there.

"Let me go Tonks." He said sternly, placing a hand on the doorknob.

She released her grip on him, and watched silently as opened the door and headed out into the dusk, his form turning opaque as he left headed towards the night.

Suddenly she ran towards him, catching up with him just before he reached the rusty gate. She tugged on his arm causing him to turn around in surprise, and she reached up onto her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss against his lips. Reaching her arms around his waist, she pulled away from their kiss and buried her head against his chest, holding him tightly against her for a moment. He held her too, before slowly tracing her cheek with his finger.

Finally she let him go, not before she moved her head from his chest and towards his ear, gently whispering "I love you," before she took a step back, breaking their embrace. Even in the dark she could feel his eyes connecting strongly with hers, and she knew he didn't want to leave her, but of course he had too.

"I'll come back to you soon." He said softly turning to leave once more.

"Preferably in one piece." She added causing him to lightly chuckle.

She watched him open the creaking gate and heard the familiar pop as he apparated, heading for the forest he hated to call home for that dreaded full moon every month.

Just as she turned to go back inside, the ground around her became slightly illuminated and she looked up to see the last wisp of grey cloud drift past the moon, and she could of sworn she heard a faint howl in the distance, calling her name.

-----

_Well that's the way I want it to stay,_

_And I always want it to be that way for my Lola_

_Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola_

Tonks hated that part of him. The part that forced her to become alone that dreaded night every month, the part that caused her to anxiously await his return, unable to sleep because she was far too worried for him, a hazard to himself out in the forest. The part that caused her to be apart from the one she loved.

But she knew without this part of him, Remus simply wouldn't be her Remus, and if that meant dealing with him being a werewolf, then so be it, because she'd gladly be deprived one night away from him, than be deprived of him altogether.

Upon thinking this, Tonks hadn't heard him come in, and when she entered the sitting room to find him bent down on one knee, holding a black velvet ring box in his hand, it was only natural that she drop the glass of pumpkin juice she was holding, causing it to smash upon impact with the floor.

"Dora?" He said, as she slowly walked towards him, her legs moving of their own accord for she was too shocked to get her brain to do anything else.

"Will you marry me?"

She stood there, stunned for a moment, their first ever meeting flashing before her eyes like a shooting star, bright and clear as if it had happened minutes before. And she smiled, her eyes brimming with tears of pure bliss, her love for him radiating throughout the room.

"Gladly."

He raised from the floor and walked towards her, a wide smile spread across his face at her answer, and he gently took her hand in his own and slipped on the elegant ring that seemed to fit her finger so perfectly. "My mother's." He added as she looked down at the beautiful piece of jewellery that was now a part of her.

She turned her gaze back to him, and he gently wiped a tear from her cheek, staring deep into her eyes, feeling that he couldn't love her anymore than this, he slowly lowered his head and kissed her upon the lips, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I love you." He mumbled against her soft lips and at that time, the Werewolf and the Metamorphmagus wished they could stay lost in this moment forever.

_Well that's the way I want it to stay,_

_And I always want it to be that way for my Lola_

_Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola_


End file.
